Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Olympics and Why No One Cares

By Luke

Rob, this is a follow-up to our earlier conversation...I consider it the icing on the cake.

Not only is Phelps 3 for 3 on gold medals, he's 3 for 3 on world records. Are you kidding me? Olympic sports are in the category with tennis, golf, etc....marginal sports where the technology is outpacing fan interest.

In fact, maybe that's a reason the most popular sports (baseball, basketball, football) are so great: even advancements in their equipment haven't skewed the game (obviously that's what's so threatening about steroids). While guys may hit more HR than they did fifty years ago, there is still a feeling of the ebb and flow of history and that's a crucial part of baseball. The Olympics have kicked it into high gear so fast that there is no sense of connection to earlier eras and that's how you end up with Phelps re-writing the record books.

1 comment:

The Way of the Future said...

Steroids have turned off a huge number of baseball fans. To many, the game will never be the same nor will it ever be as good.

- Rob